Remarkable collection from Ribble Valley museum will feature in new BBC documentary

Julie Magee

An historic Clitheroe attraction will feature in a new BBC documentary programme, River Walks – The Hodder.

Clitheroe Castle Museum, and specifically the Mitton Hoard that is kept there, will feature in the BBC One programme on Monday at 7-30pm.

The one-off documentary, with a localised version for each region of England, will have well-known guides tour 11 riverside locations across the country, revealing how the waterways have shaped the local landscape, history and culture.

In the North West edition of the programme, River Walks – The Hodder, Lancashire born broadcaster Stuart Maconie, will walk down the River Hodder in the Forest of Bowland.

During his walk, Stuart talks about the remarkable Mitton Hoard, and encourages viewers to visit the Clitheroe Castle Museum to see it for themselves.

The Mitton Hoard consists of coins that were minted from 1354 to 1427. The coins include pennies, a halfpenny, half-groats and groats. The collection also includes two small fragments that were made for the Constable of France, Gaucher V de Chatillon, between 1313 and 1322.

The coins are mainly of small value, just over five shillings in total, equivalent to about 25 pence today. This would have been more than a week's wages to a labourer at the time.

The hoard was probably accidentally lost, or deliberately hidden, in the late 1420's, during the reign of King Henry VI. It was discovered by a metal detectorist in October 2006, on a bend of the River Hodder.

The hoard can be dated from the most recent coin, which came from the 1420s. The hoard includes: